Previously, we reported on a severed head washing to shore in Florida. Now, authorities have revealed the heartbreaking reality of who the remains belonged to. Authorities confirmed that it belonged to a teen who vanished after saving his sister from drowning.
Back on November 9, 19-year-old Victor Enrique Castaneda Jr. disappeared in the ocean after saving his younger sister. Both were swimming when they got caught in a rip current. Victor managed to save his sister, but he disappeared, according to the Miami Herald. Search and rescue spent three days looking for the teen to no avail.
On November 12, a beach worker discovered a severed head on the beach. Authorities later confirmed that it belonged to the missing teen.
Prior to the identity being revealed, authorities believed it may have been an accident. "At this point we're not discounting any possibility," he told PEOPLE. "This could be an accident or missing person, it's too early to tell the circumstances."
Teen Dies
A rip current overtook Victor and his sister when they were in the water. Castaneda's older sister Jessica said that her two siblings "had just gotten in the water" when the tragic incident happened.
"They became distressed and yelling for help," she told WTVJ. "Before he was submerged, he threw my sister, because he told her they were gonna die, and he threw her, and that was the last she saw of him.
She said that he died a hero.
In a Nov. 12 Facebook tribute, Jessica mourned the loss of the teen.
"The pain I'm left with is insurmountable," she wrote. "My heart is completely and irreparably shattered. Your absence will never be accepted. No words could ever describe how much I love you Victor. To the top of the highest mountain and to the depths deeper than the titanic, I love you little brother. I love you so much."
"I will miss you every second of every minute of every single day. For the rest of my life," she concluded. "I will dream of your smile and your infectious laugh until I find you in the next life, in every life I will find you. ?."
